David Livingstone

Birthplace of david livingstone

David Livingstones birthplace (geograph 4530192)

Dance of Landeens

David Livingstone attacked by a lion in Africa. Lithograph. Wellcome V0018847

Livingstone and the Lion

David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of the late 19th-century Victorian era. He had a complex character, with a passion for exploration and a strong commitment to abolish the African slave trade. Livingstone was the first European to see the Mosi-oa-Tunya ("the smoke that thunders") waterfall, which he renamed Victoria Falls after Queen Victoria. His explorations opened the interior of Africa to the world and had a significant impact on the Western perception of the African continent.

Early Life

David Livingstone was born in Blantyre, Scotland, in a single-room tenement shared with the extended family. He was the second of seven children. His father was a committed Congregationalist, who influenced Livingstone's early spiritual development. Despite their poverty, Livingstone's father ensured that his son received a basic education. Livingstone later pursued medical studies at Anderson's University in Glasgow (now the University of Strathclyde), alongside Greek and theology, with the intention of becoming a missionary.

Missionary Work

In 1841, Livingstone was posted to the edge of the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, where he began his work as a missionary. However, his approach to missionary work was unconventional. He believed that the key to spreading Christianity was to explore Africa and open it up to European commerce and Christianity. This led him to focus on exploration, believing that by mapping and opening new routes, he would enable missionaries to penetrate Africa.

Explorations

Livingstone's most famous exploration began in 1852 when he left the mission station to explore Africa. His journey took him across the continent, from Luanda on the Atlantic to Quelimane on the Indian Ocean, a feat that had never been accomplished by a European. During this expedition, he discovered the Victoria Falls in 1855. Livingstone believed that the discovery of navigable rivers would open Africa to European influence and Christianity, and he dedicated much of his later life to these goals.

Legacy

Livingstone's explorations and his strong stance against the slave trade earned him a heroic status. He died in Africa in 1873 and his body was carried over a thousand miles by his faithful attendants to the coast so it could be returned to Britain for burial in Westminster Abbey. His heart, however, was buried in Africa, as requested by Livingstone, under a Mvula tree at the spot where he died. His legacy is a complex one; he failed to convert many Africans to Christianity, but his detailed observations and maps of southern and central Africa were invaluable to later explorers and geographers. His efforts against the slave trade and his respect for African peoples also left a lasting impact.

See Also

• Exploration of Africa
• Colonialism in Africa
• Missionary work in Africa

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